Agency slashes critical habitat for salmon

Salmon-lovers think there’s something fishy
about a recent NOAA Fisheries’ decision to strip protection
from four-fifths of the salmon’s designated critical habitat.
The change eases the way for development along 134,200 miles of
previously off-limits rivers and streams. The agency says that the
habitat’s biological importance to salmon is outweighed by
the potential economic gain for developers and landowners.

The Aug. 12 decision comes in response to a 2000 lawsuit
by the National Association of Home Builders. The group claimed
that during the Clinton era, NOAA Fisheries had failed to comply
with the Endangered Species Act’s requirement that critical
habitat designations include an economic analysis. Under the Bush
administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lost a similar
lawsuit; NOAA Fisheries decided to withdraw its habitat
designations rather than fight in court.

Now, with less
critical habitat to worry about, developers won’t have to
jump through so many time-consuming, expensive "hoops," says Home
Builders’ representative Ernie Platt.

But Jan
Hasselman of the National Wildlife Federation argues that
protecting salmon habitat is the best way to protect the
region’s economy. Commercial and recreational fishing, he
says, "can bring big money to small communities where there
aren’t a lot of other options."

The revised
critical habitat designations also leave out streams that salmon
have used historically, but where they are not currently found.
Agency spokesman Brian Gorman says that while it "makes sense
biologically" to protect those streams, "it doesn’t comport
with the law."